Mahela Jayawardene believes Sri Lanka has the firepower, experience, and talent to win their first Test series in the West Indies.

The Sri Lanka captain was speaking after his side arrived in the Caribbean for a series of two Tests and three One-day Internationals against Chris Gayle's West Indies.

Jaywardene acknowledged that he and his side could be hamstrung throughout the series by the absence of the fast bowling triumvirate of Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, and Farveez Maharoof, but they can still win the series at the third time of asking.

"We have a wonderful mixture of experience and newcomers in the team, so this is going to be a wonderful month for us in the West Indies," said Jayawardene.

"We have a good bunch of fast bowlers even though we don't have those three. We have about six fast bowlers of quality that we can choose from.

"We have some young, exciting talent, and we still have Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan, so we still have some quality there. We have confidence in those who are here."

Jayawardene also feels a series win in the Caribbean would also help to ease concerns about his side's record away from home, following their dismal showing in matches in Australia recently.

"We have to get back into the mood of playing the longer version of the game," he said.

"These are exciting times in cricket and there is a lot for which to play. We have a young side, and we are building for the future. We have some very good, experienced players, and we believe it will be a good month for us in the West Indies."

Jayawardene has warned his side not to take West Indies lightly, or else they will fail to achieve their key objective.

"We have a lot of respect for the West Indies," he said.

"They have a lot of good cricketers - Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, and Chris Gayle - they have been around for a long time and we have seen some younger players come in and perform well, so we are well aware of what the West Indies can offer.

"We have to be very watchful how we play against these guys. We have to pay close attention to the West Indies team, and look at how we go about our business.

"West Indies are a very good side and we know that on their day they can beat anybody in World cricket. We have to make sure we play smart cricket. This is a challenge for us and we are up to it."

The tour opens with a three-day match against a West Indies Select XI, starting on Monday in Guyana.

The first Test bowls off on March 22 at Providence Stadium in Guyana, while the second will be from April 3-7 at Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad.

The first two ODIs will be on April 10 and 12 at Queen's Park Oval, and the third ODI will be a day/night affair at the Beausejour Stadium in St. Lucia on April 15.